Gadabuursi (Gadabursi, Samaroon, Dir)

Name and family tree

The Gadabuursi are a clan of the Dir family. The EASO notes they are "also known as Samaroon Gadabursi" (EASO, Somalia: Security situation, 2021, Awdal). Wikipedia says most Gadabuursi descend from Sheikh Samaroon, though Samaroon is strictly one part of the clan (Wikipedia, Gadabuursi, backup).

Wikipedia cites I. M. Lewis on an Arabic chronicle of the clan. It traces the Gadabuursi to Imam Cali Si'id, who died in 1392 and fought for Sa'd ad-Din, ruler of Zeila (same source). See the Somali clan tree.

Main branches

Abbink lists these groups under Gadabursi (Abbink 2009, pp. 16–17):

• Habr Afan (Samaroon): 'Isa and Zubeir. Under Zubeir are Mahamed and Musa, and under Musa are Sa'ad, Fin, Adan, (Reer) Hamud and Mahakil.
• Habr Yusuf, Gobo, Jibrain, Hebjirreh and 'Ali Ganoon.
• Mikadore: Mahakil and Mahad Assa. Under Mahakil are Musa (with Dera), Elli, Abdalla and Egeh. Under Mahad Assa are Adan, Hussein, Musa and Abokor.
• Reer Ugaas, linked to the line above with the ancestors in between left out.
• Bimaal, Soliman, Yasmin and Sa'ad, drawn on the same line.

Wikipedia gives the two divisions as follows (Wikipedia, Gadabuursi, backup):

• Habar Makadur: Mahad Case (Bahabar Abokor, Bahabar Muuse, Habar Muuse, Bahabar Aadan, Bahabar Celi, Reer Maxamed, Abraahin). Also Makaahiil (Celi, Ciye, Bahabar Cabdalle, Bahabar Xasan, Muuse). Under Muuse are Makayl-Dheere, Afgudud, Bah Sanayo and Reer Yoonis. Reer Yoonis includes Cali, Jibriil, Aadan and Reer Nuur.
• Habar Cafaan: Jibraahin, Cali Ganuun, Gobe, Habar Yuusuf, Reer Ciise, Hebjire, Reer Zubeer, Dhega Weyne and Makayl. Under Makayl Muuse are Muusafin, Xasan Sacad, Faarole and Reer Xamuud.

Every group here is also on the Somali clan tree.

Where they live

No census counts Somalis by clan. ACCORD notes that Somalis often claim more members than their groups have, "in order to demonstrate strength" (ACCORD 2009, p. 11).

See Awdal.

History on record

• 1392. Wikipedia, citing Lewis, says the clan's chronicle opens with Imam Cali Si'id, who died that year (Wikipedia, Gadabuursi, backup).
• Late 1500s. Lewis records Ugaas Cali Makaahiil, born in 1575 at Dobo north of Borama, as winning a battle at Nabadid (same source).
• 11 and 31 December 1884. The Gadabuursi and the Ciise signed treaties with Britain. See colonial treaties.
• About 1933. Sheikh Cabdiraxmaan Sheekh Nuur created the Borama (Gadabuursi) script. See how Somali came to be written.
• 1950s. In British Somaliland, the United Somali Party drew support from the Gadabuursi and Ciise. See British Somaliland.
• 1989 to 1990. The Gadabuursi formed the Somali Democratic Alliance (Library of Congress).
• 2002 to 2010. Dahir Riyale Kahin was president of Somaliland. ACCORD notes he is Gadabuursi (ACCORD 2009, p. 13).
• September 2023. Gadabuursi clan chiefs met in Ottawa, Canada, and said they wanted Awdal to leave Somaliland (EUAA 2025, Awdal).

Wikipedia also records Gadabuursi musicians and artists in early Somali music and film, such as Cali Bucul and Rooble Afdeeb (Wikipedia, Gadabuursi, backup).

Elders and customary law

Senior Somali clan leaders carry titles such as suldaan, ugaas or issim. Their role is "mainly judicial and representative" (UK Home Office, CPIN 2019, quoting EASO 2014).

The Gadabuursi leader is the ugaas, from the Reer Ugaas line. Wikipedia lists 18 ugaas, from Cali Makaahiil Dheere (1607 to 1639) to Cabdirashiid Ugaas Rooble, in office since 1985 (Wikipedia, Gadabuursi, backup). Wikipedia quotes Renders and Terlinden (2010), who wrote that Gadabuursi institutions survived "the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape" (same source).

Wikipedia describes a xeer custom called "the law of the king and the 100 men" (Xeerka Boqorka iyo Boqolka Nin). When a new ugaas took office, a hundred elders from all lineages met. They decided which laws to keep and revised compensation rates (same source). See xeer, Somali customary law.

In recent conflict records

The EUAA lists these items from April 2023 to March 2025 (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1):

• Gadabuursi against Jibriil Abokor, Sacad Muuse and Habar Awal (Isaaq), in El Bardaale, Gabiley; "currently dormant".
• Gadabuursi sub-clans against each other in Borama, an electoral rivalry that "did not lead to armed violence".

The EUAA says Gadabuursi clan militias were involved in three of six security incidents ACLED recorded in Awdal in that period (EUAA 2025, Awdal). In 2023, it adds, Gadabuursi fighters were among those on the Somaliland army side around Laascaanood (EUAA 2025, Sool).

The EASO recorded a 2020 land dispute in Borama between the Faarax Nuur and Jibriil Yoonis sub-clans (EASO 2021, Awdal). See clan conflicts, district by district.

Where sources differ

• Size. Wikipedia says the Gadabuursi are the second largest clan in Somaliland and that most live in Ethiopia. No census counts Somalis by clan, so no source can test this.
• Divisions. Wikipedia names two divisions, Habar Makadur and Habar Cafaan. Abbink names Habr Afan and Mikadore, with five other groups listed beside them.
• Biyomaal. Abbink draws a Bimaal line on the Gadabursi branch. ACCORD, ACLED and the World Bank charts treat the Biyomaal as a separate Dir clan.
• Isaaq link. The EUAA writes "Gadabursi (Isaaq-Dir)" in its Awdal entry. Other sources place the Gadabuursi in the Dir without an Isaaq link.

Read more

• Dir
• The Somali clan tree: every clan and sub-clan
• Maxamed Case (Reer Maxamed, Bahabar Aadan)
• Habar Cafaan
• Awdal
• Dahir Riyale Kahin